Reid Detmers, Brandon Drury lead Angels to victory over Twins

MINNEAPOLIS — Reid Detmers and Brandon Drury, who are both trying to use September to polish otherwise disappointing seasons, each made some progress on Monday night.

Detmers gave up two runs in six innings and Drury hit a monster two-run homer in the Los Angeles Angels’ 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Detmers has now allowed four runs in 12 innings, with 18 strikeouts, in his two starts since returning from Triple-A.

On Monday night, he gave up single runs in the third and fourth innings. He finished with a flourish, striking out three in a row after giving up a leadoff single in the sixth.

Detmers was sent down with a 6.14 ERA in early June. After three months in the minors, the Angels finally brought him back to the majors, and he’s responded well.

Detmers is arguably the Angels’ most talented starter, and a strong finish could help him reclaim his spot on the organizational depth chart going into 2025.

Drury, 32, is a free agent at the end of the season, so he’s trying to show the baseball world that he still has something left after a nightmarish season.

Drury is hitting .169 with a .480 OPS.

Injuries and slumps throughout the rest of the lineup prompted Manager Ron Washington to put him in the cleanup spot on Monday night.

In the first inning, he scuttled a rally by hitting into a double play. Two innings later, though, he delivered.

Drury blasted a 459-foot, two-run homer into the second deck beyond the left field fence, putting the Angels ahead, 4-0.

It was the Angels’ third longest homer of the season. Drury’s fourth homer of the season improved his OPS to .760 since Aug. 30. He also drew a walk in the eighth inning.

Two innings later, Niko Kavadas yanked a two-run homer down the right field line, pushing the Angels’ lead to 6-2.

Left-hander José Suarez, who has also had a disastrous season that included a few months in the minors, then finished the game with three scoreless innings in his first game back in the majors.

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